This letter to the NYS Tax Relief Commission includes cautions about the State's ability to commit to large new property tax relief programs, and recommendations for providing better relief with the $4 billion the State spends on current programs.

This brief assesses New York State’s first-ever 10-year capital plan released in June 2013 by the New York Works Task Force. It offers steps to more effectively and strategically allocate State capital investment funding.

The allocation of school aid in New York State’s adopted budget for fiscal year 2014 has two key features: It exceeds the “cap” tied to personal income growth and it distributes the funds in a poorly targeted manner.

The final agreement on state school aid allocates $20.8 billion, approximately $7,700 per student, in formula-based school aid for school year 2014. This represents an increase of 4.7%, over school year 2013.

Competitive grants are an important element in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s approach to state aid for education. The new approach began on a small scale last year, and a review of the experience in the first year suggests the proposed expansion may be premature.